HTC 14

It seemed that this distance was a bit too close.

Jiang Xu said he would tell him at night. What things must be said at night?

If it wasn’t about a certificate, what could be considered in the first place?

Xie Huai buried his head in thought, and a bizarre idea suddenly crossed his mind.

Jiang Xu asked Xie Huai if he could give him the first place. Apart from the award, it would only be Xie Huai himself.

Xie Huai was shocked by his own thoughts. He twirled the pen in his hand and accidentally dropped it.

What if, just what if, Jiang Xu also liked him?

Thinking about it carefully, Jiang Xu was so kind to him that Xie Huai was used to it.

But how could an ordinary classmate or friend be this devoted?

When he was not at home, Jiang Xu offered to help him take care of Xiao Huaihuai. Jiang Xu would take good care of him when he was injured. When he would fight with someone, Jiang Xu would help him fight back, and then carry him home. Jiang Xu would apply ice packs to his injuries, even if his own hands turned purplish from the cold.

Jiang Xu would lend him his school uniform jacket, even though he was also feeling cold.

There were too many instances of Jiang Xu being incredibly kind to him, so much so that Xie Huai couldn’t even count them all.

It seemed like Jiang Xu had been treating him this way since the beginning of their sophomore year.

And he had only just realized it

Today was Friday, and there was no evening self-study session, so school ended at 4:30 PM.

As soon as school was over, Lu Yi ran towards Xie Huai and asked him excitedly: “Brother Huai, are you and Brother Xu going to see a movie tomorrow? I’m going, and so is Xiong Qiqi, the sports committee, and the student council. I wanted to check with you guys.”

Xie Huai promised Jiang Xu to go to the hospital for a physical check-up tomorrow.

So he shook his head and refused: “No, I have something to do tomorrow.”

Jiang Xu took his backpack from the hook on the side of the desk and slung it over his shoulder, saying, “I’m not going either.”

Lu Yi sighed after hearing this and said: “Oh, okay.”

“By the way, Brother Huai, are you really going to run the three thousand meters?” Lu Yi looked past Jiang Xu and looked at Xie Huai’s feet, still a little worried.

Xie Huai chuckled, “What’s the matter? Don’t you believe in me?”

“Hey, Brother Huai, don’t take it the wrong way. I never said that,” Lu Yi quickly responded. “I’m just concerned about your foot, especially since the injury was so severe this time.”

Speaking of this, Lu Yi wanted to pull Yuan Tao out and give him a beating again. He gritted his teeth and said, “Damn Yuan Tao, that idiot. If it weren’t for him, your feet wouldn’t be like this.”

“My damn legs are not broken.”

Listening to Lu Yi’s words, it seemed as if his legs were crippled.

“I know, but I’m just so angry about it.”

Xie Huai: “I know you are kind-hearted, how about…”

Lu Yi looked up.

Xie Huai leaned back and looked at Lu Yi with a straight face, “Why don’t you run the three thousand meters for me?”

Lu Yi: “…”

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Jiang Xu smiled when he heard this. Lu Yi was taken aback, looked at Jiang Xu, and thought to himself, ‘Damn it, their class monitor looked so damn good when he smiled.’

As they walked out of the school gate, the wind blew along the way, and Xie Huai’s hair was noticeably tousled. He raised his hand and ruffled it a few times, feeling instantly refreshed.

Xie Huai could now walk without assistance, although he still had a bit of a wobbly gait.

He walked slowly, and Jiang Xu slowed down to match his pace, walking side by side with him.

Xie Huai would raise his head slightly from time to time and say a few words to Jiang Xu, and Jiang Xu would respond to every word he said.

From a distance, they look like an intimate couple.

Jiang Xu glanced at the convenience store next to him and asked Xie Huai, “Do you want some candy?”

“Are you buying it for me?” Xie Huai put a hand on Jiang Xu’s shoulder and replied with a smile.

Jiang Xu said, “Yes, I’m buying it for you.”

The corner of Xie Huai’s lips curled up, and he said, “Then I want some.”

“Wait for me,” Jiang Xu said before entering the nearby 24-hour convenience store.

He came out in less than a minute.

Xie Huai raised his eyebrows: “So fast?”

Jiang Xu said “hmm” and opened the bag he was carrying. Xie Huai leaned closer to peek inside and was astonished by the quantity of candy.

“So many?”

“They don’t have the type of candy you like here,” Jiang Xu explained.

Xie Huai blinked and said vaguely, “So you bought one of each kind?”

Jiang Xu said, “Yes, I didn’t know which one you’d like.”

“I like all the ones you bought,” Xie Huai mumbled.

Jiang Xu paused for a moment and then looked at Xie Huai, asking, “What did you say?”

Xie Huai didn’t respond this time.

Although there weren’t too many people passing by, occasional glances were directed at them.

A gust of wind blew by, making a rustling sound. Jiang Xu’s school uniform jacket was slightly blown by the wind, and his hair became tousled.

Jiang Xu’s heart was also confused.

“Let’s talk about it when we get home, okay?” Xie Huai raised his eyes, pursed his lips, and looked into Jiang Xu’s eyes as he asked.

Jiang Xu gazed into those clear and bright eyes. As Xie Huai looked at him like this, he couldn’t help but entertain some obsessive thoughts. He imagined passionately kissing Xie Huai’s lips and not letting go, no matter how much Xie Huai struggled. He wanted to steal Xie Huai’s breath and claim more…

Jiang Xu rubbed the knuckles of his left index finger to suppress these thoughts. After a few seconds, he nodded and said, “Okay.”

As soon as they got home, Xie Huai walked in first. Upon hearing the sound, Xiao Huaihuai immediately got up from its nest and rushed towards the entrance. It was about to bump into Xie Huai, who had just changed his shoes when it suddenly came to a halt a few centimeters away from him.

It then wagged its tail happily while circling around Xie Huai.

“Xiao Huaihuai.” Xie Huai squatted down and touched Xiao Huaihuai’s head. Xiao Huaihuai felt comfortable and rubbed into Xie Huai’s hand.

Jiang Xu walked in and closed the door. When Xiao Huaihuai saw Jiang Xu, he immediately abandoned Xie Huai and ran to Jiang Xu’s feet in circles.

Xie Huai’s palms were empty: “…”

Xie Huai wondered why his son preferred the other father more despite the fact that he was very good to his son.

He gave Jiang Xu an intense look, and Jiang Xu innocently returned his gaze.

Leaving behind this father-son pair, Xie Huai picked up the candy from Jiang Xu’s hand, strolled over to the living room sofa, and casually sat down. He turned on the television and continued watching an anime series he hadn’t finished.

He glanced at the bag on the coffee table, not knowing what kinds of candy were inside and not bothering to pick and choose. He reached into the bag and grabbed the topmost packet.

When he looked at it…

It was lemon candy.

There was a hint of surprise in Xie Huai’s eyes. He opened the package, took one out, tore off the candy wrapper, and put it into his mouth without much thought.

Sweet and sour.

Jiang Xu went to the fridge after cleaning up to get a can of lemon tea and another at room temperature. He walked over and took a seat next to Xie Huai.

Jiang Xu opened the can of lemon tea and placed it in front of Xie Huai, asking, “Is the lemon candy sweet?”

Xie Huai didn’t know why, but his heart began to beat a bit faster. Crunch, the lemon candy in Xie Huai’s mouth was crushed into pieces. Jiang Xu finally heard Xie Huai’s voice after a long time: “Sweet.”

A long pause followed.

“Xie Huai,” Jiang Xu called him.

Xie Huai was inexplicably nervous: “Yeah.”

Jiang Xu took a sip of iced lemon tea and said, “Do you know when I first met you?”

Xie Huai blurted out subconsciously: “Isn’t it on the first day of junior high school?”

Jiang Xu shook his head and smiled softly: “Not really, it was during the summer vacation before entering the first grade of middle school.”

Xie Huai was really confused now. He remembered that during that summer vacation, he hadn’t gone anywhere, so how did Jiang Xu come to know him?

“I wanted to say thank you to you at that time, but before I opened my mouth, you were frightened by me.” Jiang Xu looked at Xie Huai and slowly stated this past event that no one knew except him and Xie Huai, “Then, you just ran to your bed and wrapped yourself into a dumpling.”

Xie Huai’s fingers curled up slightly. He remembered this incident. Sometimes, when he felt unhappy, thinking about it made him feel better.

Because that person was the only guy who didn’t find him annoying when he shared his happy stories.

Xie Huai used to like to share his happy things with others. In elementary school, when he saw classmates feeling down, he’d tell them about the things that made him happy. However, many of his male classmates found him annoying and complained that he talked too much.

Xie Huai didn’t realize it until middle school that his male classmates in elementary school disliked him not because he talked too much, but because the girls in their class were close to Xie Huai.

So Xie Huai later deliberately reduced his talkativeness, but discovered that the situation in elementary school no longer existed once he entered middle school.

Many male classmates who got along well with him still found him annoying because he spoke less. Therefore, Xie Huai returned to his talkative self.

Before that, only the boy who had shared a hospital room with him was willing to listen to him for so long.

“You are…” Xie Huai opened his mouth.

“Well, I am him.” Jiang Xu said.

Xie Huai asked: “Did you find me annoying at that time?”

He was a little worried, he was afraid of hearing an answer he didn’t want to hear, but this person was Jiang Xu, so he couldn’t help but want to ask.

“No, I was never annoyed by you,” Jiang Xu replied.

Xie Huai paused for a few seconds and then asked slowly, “So when I gave you all my snacks back then, and you looked at me like you were annoyed, was that not true?”

Jiang Xu hesitated. “I… I got used to it. I used to give everyone that look.”

It’s just that Jiang Xu didn’t expect Xie Huai to remember this for so long.

After hearing Jiang Xu’s answer, Xie Huai’s anxious heart settled back into place. “Oh, I thought you were annoyed with me.”

“Just because of one look, you remembered it for so long?” Jiang Xu asked.

Xie Huai looked at Jiang Xu angrily. “I gave you all of my snacks because I noticed you were unhappy. I brought you all of my favorite snacks but you still giving me that look. Anyone would get mad, and anyone would remember it for so long.”

Jiang Xu looked at the slightly irritated Xie Huai and couldn’t help but smile in resignation. “I apologized to you, and you’re still calling me a mute.”

“You didn’t speak. Can’t blame me,” Xie Huai retorted.

Jiang Xu’s gaze lingered on Xie Huai’s lips for a few seconds before shifting away. “Xie Huai, do you know that was the first time I ever apologized to someone?”

Xie Huai fell silent.

“When you were in junior high, you were very popular. I know that many people liked you, both boys and girls. Some even tried to pursue you, but I heard you were hard to win over, and no one succeeded,” Jiang Xu said.

Jiang Xu paused for a second and continued: “I have liked you since the first grade of middle school. So, do I still have a chance to pursue you now?”

Xie Huai’s mind went blank. He then heard his own heartbeats getting louder and faster, and his fingertips trembling uncontrollably. Xie Huai felt like he was about to suffocate.

It turns out that Jiang Xu really likes him.

Xie Huai’s long-held anxiety finally dissipated, replaced by overwhelming joy.

This was Jiang Xu’s first time confessing to someone, and he was nervous as well, fearing that Xie Huai might ignore him after this.

“Jiang Xu.”

Jiang Xu’s Adam’s apple rolled up and down: “Yeah.”

Xie Huai suddenly grabbed Jiang Xu’s collar and moved closer to him.

Jiang Xu’s mind exploded.

Jiang Xu’s lips were slightly cold as Xie Huai lingered for a couple of seconds and then slowly let go.

He panted slightly and asked Jiang Xu nervously: “Lemon candy, is it sweet?”

Jiang Xu licked his lips and smiled slightly: “Sweet.”